Path of the Exile: The Gift
by A.R. Minion
Summary: Hunted by a seemingly limitless supply of enemies, Sith and bounty hunters alike, is it wise for the crew of Ebon Hawk to allow one of the enemy to remain among their numbers? When confronted with this issue, what will be the Exile’s choice? LSM Exile


Leaning back against the wall next to the starboard pathway, Atton eyed the container of food in his hand with a less than enthusiastic look upon his face as he picked at the contents with his fork. It was now their fourth day straight out in space after having placed Dantooine behind them and Onderon before them, and for each day the main course for all three meals had been the same.

Republic Emergency Rations, RERs for short, most commonly known as "poodoo in a can" by the countless war refugees that had to live off the awful stuff.

In what had been mostly a publicity act, some senators on the Coruscant Council had brought about the creations of these portable meals in air tight plasteel containers in order to cease the growing complaints of war refugees starving to death within the streets. And, in truth, while such a source of food was cheap, portable, and ready for consumption for most, for those that actually ate these meals it was hardly an act of kindness. But hey, at least the high classes did not have to worry about the smell of rotting bodies in the streets anymore…

"Remind me again why we have to eat this bantha fodder." The pilot eyed the other passengers of the Ebon Hawk that were presently within the main hull, giving his companions resentful glares as if being forced to eat such nourishment was a cruel punishment they were forcing upon him, despite the fact that they were all currently indulging in the exact same meals.

If perhaps the quick-mouthed spacer had considered whom it was that he had been addressing, he may not have been so fast to complain. Bao-Dur and Kai Lugo, both being Mandalorian War veterans, were likely used to having to rely on the ever distasteful soldier's nutritional kits for sustenance in the dark periods of their campaigns, which probably were no better than "poodoo in a can". And as for the red-mane huntress, Atton could only imagine what sort of nourishment she had to rely upon while living among the hovels on Nar Shadaa. From how stringy a figure she had, the eyeful pilot imagined that whatever she used to eat had been barely enough to keep the skin on her bones.

"RERs are both a cheap and effective way to provide nutrition for biological beings, loud one," responded the fourth occupant of the room in the metallic voice that was as unpleasant to the ears as RERs were to the tongue. Goto, whilst still focusing his photoreceptor upon the console view screen in the far corner of the hull, responded to Atton's remark as only an economical based machine would. "I have often sold mass quantities of them to supply many of my associates for their humanoid slaves. Frankly I found it more sensible to only use droids in managing my business affairs. Biological beings are all just so… messy…"

"So we're letting a droid handle our food supply now?" The pilot remarked, almost in disbelief at the idea. "Well… that explains a lot."

"If you don't want to eat it, then don't eat it," Mira spat out between chews as she leaned back in one of the console station chairs surrounding the center kiosk. "No one's shoving it down your throat, fly boy."

"While this may be gourmet feasting compared to what you've had to choke down in your lifetime," Atton responded with his usual spark of sarcasm, "I, however, still have full use of my taste buds, and they are not enjoying being tormented like this."

The huntress let out a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her meal. "I've turned in bounty heads that complained less…"

"Come on, Bao-Dur," Atton looked over to the technician with an almost begging expression. "Isn't there any way for you to get that damn synthesizer to work!?"

"My answer is the same as it has been for the last few days, Atton…" the Iridonian responded after letting out a heavy sigh of aggravation. "The synthesizer won't work until we get a new particle filter. "

The Exile, who sat around the center kiosk at the station closest the technician, tried to hide his amused smile as he sensed the alien suppressing the desire to walk straight up to the repetitiously whining human and jab the man with his own fork.

Atton sniffed defiantly at the Iridonian's response, apparently just as tired of hearing the same answer as everyone else was tired of hearing him ask the same question over and over for the last four days.

The room fell deathly quiet then as all occupants, spare the lone droid hovering in the corner and the one standing inactive within the room's separate compartment, returned to their meals. For the two young humans, the silence was almost as unbearable as the food. For them, tranquility was a joy they only knew while surrounded by the swirling streams of active life, and all the noise such entailed with it. For them to be in the presence of others that were so passive in their attendance, making but miniscule sound and motion, was more unsettling than being stuck within the racket and disorientating confusion of a mob.

Rather than accept this silent tranquility that the other occupants took in with good favor, Atton decided to break the calm by speaking his mind on a certain issue that he had not come to terms with yet, being sure that the same was true for more than a few others present within the ship, an issue that had unexpectedly landed within their laps just before having left Dantooine.

"So what are we going to do with her?"

Only two pairs of eyes turned upon the pilot then, Kai keeping his diverted upon his package of food as he chewed upon another fork full.

"Look Kai, we were nice enough to let her stay onboard to recuperate from that beating you gave her," Atton continued, irritation evident within his voice, more likely due to how Kai intentionally avoided looking back at him than to how he had been avoiding the subject since their unexpected guest had regained consciousness. "But you can't possibly expect us to allow her to stay…"

"What do you care, Atton?" Mira asked, looking almost accusingly upon the man with an arched eyebrow. "Having another woman around that doesn't want you to touch them that big of a cumbrance for you?"

Laughter quietly escaped the lips of the two other men in the room, the third eyeing the leather-bound huntress with distasteful resentment in his eyes. Finding neither of the snickering pair turned to meet Atton's gaze as he stared his anger upon them, the pilot continued as if not having heard Mira's voice. "We already have enough trouble with the Sith popping out at every turn. We don't need to be bunking with one as well."

"_He's right, you know…"_

The humored expression melted away rather abruptly from Kai's features as he found a foreign voice echoing within his thoughts, a voice that had greeted him like such more times than he cared for since having first met its owner.

And once again, this one individual, his untraditional teacher, with whom he was bound to beyond all things physical, gazed into the deepest recesses of his thoughts and feelings as easily as she would gaze upon the pages of a tome, had she the optical ability to do so.

"_You risk much in this foolish generosity you give unto her, Exile," _Kreia went onward to say, her voice reaching Lugo's ears as if she were standing within the room with him. _"Do not doubt that a great weight rests upon your shoulders. You would risk it for the sake of one lowly, disfigured creature?"_

Her words came upon the Exile, echoing almost of intrigue rather than the anger Kai had expected. _"I do not believe that it is her desire to kill me, or was even back then."_

"_Desire or not, she has attacked you once already at the will of her master. And she will answer the call when he finally does decide to beckon to her. She has no choice in the matter. She never did. It was not her choice to survive the death of her world while all those she ever loved withered into ash around her. It was not her choice to be bonded in life and will to the decimator of her race. And it was not her choice to come here to kill you. Do you honestly believe that anything has changed for her?"_

Kai's eyes slowly closed as he lowered his head in conceit to the truth behind his teacher's words. What had truly changed for the Miraluka? Being aboard this ship, far from the confines of her master's gaze, perhaps provided her with some sense of relief. But if she was truly bound to the will of this man, this Sith Lord… how could he, a Jedi who had for so long forgotten what it meant to feel the Force, save her from the black hand that grasped so tightly around her throat?

"_What can you do for her, Kai Lugo…"_

"Hey! Kai!"

The Exile, suddenly registering the voice ringing within his ears, opened his eyes and raised his gaze to look upon those about him, finding three pairs of baffled eyes gazing back at him.

"Sorry… I guess I blanked out for a moment there…," Kai muttered at he raised a hand to rub his forehead, finding the change from speaking to another inside his mind to doing so outwardly was… unsettling. "What is it, Atton?"

Confused as to why the man sitting before him had zoned out so completely, yet keeping his suspicions silent, the pilot repeated himself. "I said 'what do you plan to do with her, Kai?'"

For a moment, the two men simply stared at eachother, both waiting for an answer to come. Mira and Bao-Dur both looked back and forth between the pair, and then upon eachother, each only offering the other a shrug of their shoulders in response to the awkwardness that had suddenly found its way into the main hull.

Without a word, Kai suddenly placed down the canister and fork still resting within his hands and walked over into the storage compartment where the rusty droid still stood unfunctional.

Atton called out to the man after several more silent moments."What are you-"

"It just occurred to me," the Exile responded as he reappeared from beyond the small room, now carrying a small plasteel container within his hand. "She might be hungry, considering she hasn't had anything to eat since leaving the medical bay…"

As Kai passed him by, the young pilot stared upon him with bewilderment written all over his face. It had been one of the few times the man had spoken in all seriousness, only to find his concern being passed off with a light-hearted comment. "She might be hungry…? Hey…Kai! Hey!"

Before Atton could find the words to respond with, the raven-haired Jedi disappeared beyond the starboard passage. Looking over to Bao-Dur and Mira for support, he only found the pair once again snickering at his suspense.

- - -

The smooth rise and fall of her chest and shoulders were the only signs to tell that her small, delicate form bared any life within it as she kneeled there upon the floor of the starboard crew quarters. The hours of the day had passed without sound or commotion, leaving her to her own as she meditated without tire.

What many things the Miraluka thought upon while unbothered by the chaos of the world surrounding her, who could say? Perhaps she often thought of nothing, pondered nothing, and dreamt of nothing, as was the bliss that her master had shown her in a world consumed with the carnage of thoughts and dreams and desires. Or perhaps she often dreamt about fulfilling her master's desires, of bringing calm and serenity to the swirling ocean of life.

Yet whatever it was that she often thought about, was not what was passing through her mind at that moment. What thoughts that were possessing her then that were causing the ache within her heart were the memories of home, of Katarr. Had the memories of what her home had become been the ones that were passing in front of her sight, memories of a graveyard riddled with smog and ash, they may not have struck upon her so strongly. But what visions that assaulted her now were of what Katarr had once been: green fields brimming of life and beauty, architecture that captivated the visage, and love… so much love…

And now… so much pain…

Why did these visions fall upon her now, Visas had quietly pondered for hour after hour without pause. And as the next hour threatened to pass her by, she still found no answer to relieved her from the visions. And had she been left to her own, she would have continued to think upon it, perhaps until she had passed out from hunger or exhaustion, whichever came first. But the sounds of one's approach upon the chamber stirred her from her meditations, and she achingly rose from where she knelt and turned to meet her invader.

Kai stood motionless before the enigmatic woman, his gaze falling upon her as he knew her own was upon him. And yet, though he had been the one to approach her, he found that words did not come to him as they would have had he approached any other. Rather his mind became active with thoughts that he had no control over. And what thought that had grasped him so quickly and so strongly was the realization that the woman standing before him calls herself a Sith.

It had not been the Exile's first encounter with one, though the confrontation he had shared with the assassins on Peragus had ended too quickly in bloodshed for him to have learned anything about them. In truth, the first Dark Jedi Kai would have claimed to have interacted with would have to have been Malak. While indeed Revan may have been the one to have brought the Sith teachings upon the Republic forces and Jedi that had followed him, Lugo recalled his former commander having taken the title of Sith Lord upon himself more out of a sense of obligation rather than of desire. Kai could not have said the same for Malak.

Rage, bloodlust, raw strength, the giant of a man spoke these things within every motion he made, every look he gave, after having given himself over to the Dark Side in totality. For Kai, Malak had been what it meant to be a Dark Jedi. And for the Exile, to use that beast of a man as the standard for which he compared the woman standing in front of him, this creature of elegance, grace, tranquility, beau-

Kai's eyes sharply closed as he abruptly ended his line of thought. It was sufficient enough for him to admit to himself that he did not see a Dark Jedi standing before him now, at least not by his definition…

"How may I serve, Exile?" The question came from Visas' lips much as it had countless times before in front of her master, albeit a change in title of address.

"_The words of a slave…"_

The voice of Kreia once again echoed within Kai's mind, making it apparent that the old woman had not ceased in perceiving through the Exile's senses. And, sadly, due to the nature of their… unnatural bond, Kai doubted that he had much word behind what his teacher did or did not perceive.

"_This pitiful being has for too long been the hand by which her master has made precisive strikes against the galaxy. How many other Jedi, do you suppose, has she been sent out to eliminate in the many years she has served under her patriarch? You do her victims a dishonor by providing haven to their killer…"_

Although Kai could not very well keep Kreia from speaking into his mind, he could just as effectively choose to ignore her.

"You need not keep yourself a prisoner of this room, Visas," Lugo finally responded as he looked straight upon the woman with calm eyes. "You will find some among the ship to be warm to your presence. At least as much so as they are to each other…"

Kai knew that perhaps he was being slightly overconfident in his companions' abilities to be unprejudicial, considering that the Miraluka had invaded their ship, debilitated the other crewmembers, and attacked the Exile himself with intent to kill.

But it had not been of her will. It never had been. If anything else, Kai remembered clearly the scene of the veiled woman attacking him, and how every swing and thrust she had made with her lightsaber had been hollow of desire and appeared to mirror another's intent, not her own, as if she had been playing the role of a puppet dancing on the whim of her wielder's strings.

"I…thank you, Exile," Visas slowly came to respond, seeming a bit put off guard by what Kai was offering her, "but I do not feel it appropriate for me to presently pursue the acceptance of your companions."

The veiled woman then turned her gaze from the man standing before her. "They have every reason to deny me, as do you…"

"_Even she realizes the truth, Exile…Will you continue to deny it even when she herself knows the risk she brings upon us?"_

For several silent moments, Kai made no motion to respond, neither to the woman standing before him, or the one overshadowing his mind. His eyes simply continued to gaze upon her, as if he were actually contemplating either her words or that of his teacher.

Was he truly thinking about killing her? Of ending the peril her presence brought upon him, his friends, and all they were setting out to accomplish? Would it truly be an act of mercy to end her life? To free her from suffering her bond of slavery that commanded her to commit acts she could not forgive herself for, and perhaps ending the dark reign of her hollow being of a master?

It was right for so many reasons…

Visas' eyeless gaze came back upon the now darkened face of the last Jedi, her words echoing of great pain, and resolve. "I'm not worth it… I'm not worth the risk I bring upon you, upon all that exists. You know this, Exile… and if you truly are a Jedi, you will act as you know you must…"

Kai returned her gaze then with eyes brimming with the resolve of a leader. "I intend to…"

In a smooth motion, Lugo brought his left hand out in front of him, presenting its contents to the veiled woman.

In some dark corner of Visas' mind right then, beyond all the pain she has suffered and the beliefs born of that pain, she felt a part of herself cry out with the desire to live. And she knew then that it was the same part of her that was causing those painful memories to resurface after so long.

Yet just as frantically as that part of her had screamed out did it subside once again beneath the shadows, as realization dawned upon her that what the Exile was holding towards her was not a weapon.

Completely for the sake of the woman still dancing within his thoughts, a snide smile made its way upon Kai's lips. "If you intend to stay here with us, then I cannot very well allow you to starve to death."

Shifting her gaze from the green-eyed man to the metallic container within his hand, and then back upon the man, Visas found her voice came to her with uncertainty. "I…do not understand…?"

"You've been unconscious for about three days, Visas," Kai calmly clarified, "And I apologize for not offering you something to eat when you first woke up. I can only imagine how famished you must be right now…"

For several seconds, Visas remained simply staring upon the Exile, who returned the gaze with a warm smile, despite knowing that the Miraluka could not appreciate such a thing.

Slowly, Visas' hand rose to meet the offering, taking the small canister from Kai's grasp, yet gazing upon it with almost a sense of bewilderment. Removing the lid, she found the contents all to be very simplistic: a few eating utensils, a small heating pad, two or three nutrient bars, a water canteen, and what appeared to be a mixture of some type of stewed meat and vegetables within a plastic package.

"It may not be the most… enjoyable meal one can have," Kai remarked, seeming partly embarrassed in admitting such, "but at least it should quench your appetite."

A deep silence then fell between the pair for several seconds, Visas refusing to raise her gaze from the container, as if unable to understand why she was being given such, despite knowing the emptiness of nourishment she felt within herself.

When no response came after several more moments, a heavy sigh found its way out of Kai's lips, followed by a slight nod. "When you are done with it, just leave the container and packaging at the entrance. I'll come back to pick it up later."

With those final words, Lugo placed his arms behind him, and turned to start back for the main hold.

"…_why_…?"

Not getting more than four steps out of the room, the former Jedi halted his momentum upon hearing the Miraluka's whisper of a voice, then turning halfway around to look back upon her.

Almost aggressively did the veiled woman raise her gaze towards Kai then, her voice bordering upon aggression as well. "I do not understand, Exile… Why are you doing this? I've warned you already, you must not weaken yourself for-"

"-Kai," the green-eyed man interjected.

Again, the Miraluka found herself unsure of the man's meaning. "What…?"

"You need not call me Exile, Visas. I've never really partaken of being called such, truthfully," Lugo clarified, shrugging his shoulders lightheartedly. "I've had many names in my life, I suppose: Orphan, Padawan, Jedi, General, Exile… I never really enjoyed being called by such titles, nor using them to address others. They caused people often to think too little or too highly of me. I always felt that such things never describe a person in whole, and such did not do anyone justice…"

The veiled woman remained silent before the former Jedi, unsure of how to respond to the man's words.

Kai passed on another warm and unperceived smile to the woman then. "I am Kai Lugo. I've always been Kai Lugo, even before Master Vandar first gave me the name when he found me on Coruscant. And you are Visas Marr. No one can take that away from you. Not even him…"

Again, Visas found no words to respond with, or rather, none that she had the heart to say. So many strange and unfamiliar emotions swirled around inside her as she listened to the Exile. She could not find any within herself for which she could take stability in.

"Please eat, Visas," Kai softly added, "At least, while you are with us, there is no need for you to go around half starving to death."

And with that said, the Exile turned back around and continued on his way, leaving the woman once again to her own, and yet leaving with her so much more than he could have possibly realized.

Slowly did the veiled woman make her way over to the center bunk, her bunk, and placed herself down softly at the end of the mattress. The Exile's words hung over her thoughts like a heavy cloud.

"_Who am I?"_ The Miraluka had asked herself this question more times than she could remember. Once, the answer had been so simple for her. She was once Visas Marr, resident of the Katarr colony, sister to her beloved younger brother, Jairo Marr, counselor at the Katarr Academy, daughter of high councilmember Loren Marr, and heiress of their noble house.

But Visas Marr had died, in all ways but the last. She died when fire burned to rubble her family's home and estate. She died when she held her little brother's smoldering body within her trembling arms as it turned to ash before her and the tears did not relent. She died as the voices of all she once loved and held dear grew unbearably silent. And she died when, from that silence, one voice came upon her ears, and it showed her the galaxy as she had never seen it before, nearly blinding her in the process.

And so what did that leave alive? A Dark Jedi? A scout? A slave? Which of these titles truly described her as whole?

As the Miraluka's gaze fell upon the container now sitting in her lap, she pondered ever deeply what the Exile had told her, and by the sheer conviction that the man had spoken with, did she find her own views stirred in a way that they had not been since her lord had imprinted them upon her.

For one that has known suffering as he has, who has been betrayed and abandoned as he has, he still somehow maintained a strong will and an unwavering sense of himself and his beliefs.

And rather than choosing to kill her as she had asked, as some of his companions had thought best, and as his teacher had advised, he instead chose to give her a meal.

And rather than calling her by any of the many names her master had forced upon her, he chose to call her by the one her father had given her.

Visas… it had been so long since anyone had called her such that she had forgotten what it sounded like coming from another's voice. In but an instance, her master had taken her name from her, along with everything else she had held dear. And ever so easily did the Exile… no… Kai give a precious piece of it back to her…

Picking up one of the nutrient bars from within the container, the veiled woman proceeded to pull back the wrapping. Slowly did she bring herself to take a small bite.

She quickly learned the truth behind Lugo's remarks concerning the delectability of the entrée. The bar was bland in taste and bared the texture of stale bread.

It was dry, salty, and crumbly.

And it was the most delicious thing the Miraluka had ever eaten…

"_I… am Visas Marr…" _It had been so long since the woman had thought of herself as such.

"_Thank you…Kai…"_

- - -

Kneeling silently within her chambers, the enigmatic old woman surrounded herself in utter silence and stillness. And yet her eyes and hearing took in all that happened about the ship, from the training of the Handmaiden in the cargo hold, to the welding of the utility droid within the engine room. Yet while these sights and sounds passed anonymously by Kreia's senses, it was the events within the starboard chambers that had gained her utmost attention, and concern.

Yet this concern was not the one that she had expressed to the Exile. In truth, she had no reservations about the blinded slave's intent, despite what influence Kreia's former student had over the woman. Someone as weak and pathetic as this blinded Miraluka was no threat upon the Exile's life; of this the old woman had known when she had first allowed the slave to board the Ebon Hawk. She was such a wretched creature, broken upon silence and despair, and now nothing more than the bound servant of a master that had kept her alive for no other reason than his own preservation.

And ever since she had allowed for the Exile to meet this creature, Kreia had regretted not killing her when she had the chance. She now saw ever clearly that she had made a mistake in assuming that the blinded slave would prove advantageous to her cause. She had assumed that the Miraluka would perceive the Exile much like the others did, as the Handmaiden was coming to perceive him. But such was not proving to be the case.

The bond that was forming between them, it was different from the ones the Exile was forming with the others, even from the one he shared with the Handmaiden; bonds that were formed around their roles of leader and followers. Their bond was unique, complicated, and getting only stronger.

Though it was currently no where near the strength of the one the former Jedi shared with his teacher, Kreia could not ignore the potential of what it could evolve into, and the potential threat that it could prove for all of them.

She had already warned the Exile of the dangers of letting his lusts control him, but whatever this bond was, it was not born of anything carnal. It echoed, from both of them, of true understanding, empathy that stemmed from their very cores, the desire to support each other through all suffering, and perhaps…

She was far more of a threat than Kreia could have imagined, she realized this now.

"Do not lose sight of your loyalties, Exile," the old woman spoke aloud, her words reaching the ears of none but her own. "If you do, her fate will belong to me…"


End file.
